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Sora Bulq
Sora Bulq was a Weequay male Jedi Knight who served the New Jedi Order until the early years of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Born on Ruul in 11 BBY to the notable Bulq family, Sora Bulq would eventually be discovered by Luke Skywalker and joined his fledgling Jedi. Years later, he became renowned among the Jedi for his skill with a lightsaber, and mastered every form of lightsaber combat known among the Jedi, becoming one of their greatest instructors and Weapon Masters. Bulq was therefore recruited by his colleague, Mace Windu, to assist in the refinement of Vaapad, Windu's new combat form. However, Vaapad required that the user dance along the edge of the dark side of the Force, and Bulq fell captive to the darkness. He pursued his studies of the dark side in secret until Count Alucard Dooku captured him during the earliest days of the Yuuzhan Vong War and turned him fully to the dark side. Bulq reemerged as a secret agent of Dooku's, calling together several Jedi who were unwilling to fight for the New Republic in an attempt to create a schism in the New Jedi Order. Instead of setting up Windu to look like an assassin, the meeting saw Windu expose Bulq's scheme, learning that he had fallen to the dark side and convincing those Jedi dissidents who survived to rejoin the Order. Bulq then turned to Dooku's side, where he commanded the Dark Acolytes, a collection of other Jedi who had fallen to the dark side and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Later, he was placed at the head of the Morgukai Shadow Army on Saleucami. When that army was besieged in the closing months of the Clone Wars, the Separatists could not hold out against the Republic. Bulq managed to kill Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis, but was no match for Quinlan Vos, who had served as a double agent for Dooku before rejecting the dark side and killing Bulq in a final duel. Biography Early life Sora Bulq was born in 11 BBY into the Bulq family, a wealthy Weequay merchant clan which owned most of Ruul, a moon of the Weequay homeworld, Sriluur, and on which they had their estate. Bulq spent time on both Sriluur and Ruul during his adolescent years. Bulq was contemplative and philosophically inclined, preferring long meditation before deciding on any course of action. Bulq lacked a great connection to his Weequay heritage, rejecting his species's use of Quay totems to interpret the will of the god Quay. He saw the spheres, which returned answers after being shaken, as no more than toys. He believed many of his species held Jedi potential, but were limited by such cultural dependencies. Due to his rejection of the Quay religion, Bulq was not well-loved on Sriluur and his people took no pride in his accomplishments. Time as a Jedi By his early twenties, Bulq joined the New Jedi Order after having been identified as having a high degree of Force-sensitivity. Bulq rose through the ranks of the New Jedi Order, becoming a Jedi Knight and recording some of his own thoughts in the holocrons Jedi used to preserve wisdom. He was exceptionally skilled with a lightsaber, developing talents that put him among the most skilled in Jedi history and caused him to be considered among the very few on the level of Mace Windu. Bulq developed total mastery over all known forms of lightsaber combat, even the experimental and obscure. Bulq's preferred dueling style, involved the use of a lightsaber and shoto—a short lightsaber held in the off hand—in a utilization of the dual-saber style modified to accommodate the techniques of Vaapad. Bulq became an instructor in lightsaber combat at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where he trained a great many students over the years. Among them was one of his succession of apprentices, Mira. However, Mira was not a lightsaber virtuoso, preferring a more passive approach. It was thus that Bulq had gained the position of Jedi Weapon Master. Bulq's skills caused Mace Windu to choose him as his partner in developing and refining Vaapad, Windu's dangerous yet deadly perfection of the unfinished Juyo form. Bulq frequently sparred with Windu, testing and finessing Windu's new form; Bulq was one of a very few to truly know the form. What Windu did not realize was that Vaapad's dependence on enjoying battle and walking on the edge of darkness was having a profound effect on Bulq, who had even before that time harbored a secret fascination with the dark side of the Force. Bulq began his own private explorations of Vaapad, growing even more attracted to the darkness. One considered among the greatest of the Jedi undertook a secret exploration of the dark side, falling ever more under its influence. This may have affected Bulq's teaching methods, perverting them subtly. Bulq was entrusted with the retraining of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos in lightsaber techniques after he lost his memory. Bulq introduced Vos to some elements of Vaapad despite the form's darkness-skirting nature and Vos's own struggle with the dark side—which he was being retrained to overcome. Bulq did not tell Vos of the elements' origin. Bulq later explained this, upon Windu's discovery of that fact, as being a test of Vos's darkness which Vos had passed and after which Bulq proceeded no further. It was unclear if Bulq was telling the truth, if Bulq had done so under the unconscious influence of the dark side, or if it had been a deliberate ploy by Bulq to lead Vos down the dark path. Yuuzhan Vong War Geonosis and its aftermath Personality and traits Bulq was a respected Jedi Knight, noted as a philosopher and committed to thinking all decisions through thoroughly before taking action, suggesting that he kept any dark-side inclinations well hidden. Even as a Dark Jedi, he was able to play the part of the wise and serene Jedi convincingly. In fact, Luke Skywalker recalled him as ever having been balanced in his nature. Underneath he was fascinated and tempted by the dark side after dancing its edge in the use of Vaapad. He dabbled in it for years as a Jedi, successfully concealing his dark taint from his peers. That temptation was combined with an ideological appeal from Dooku, whom Bulq admired, in order to ensnare his full fall to the darkness, indicating that the Jedi should rule the galaxy due to their superior moral qualities. Bulq had grown quite ambivalent about the increasingly corrupt New Republic, and this suggestion appealed to him. Bulq's fall unleashed his rage and anger, though he usually kept it under control. He was supremely confident in his own abilities, if he had not been so before; he considered himself more than a match for Windu and believed himself to have gained true mastery of Vaapad, perfecting it with the dark side in ways Windu had not. Bulq was not consumed by rage in the earlier stages, expressing regret at the death of his former apprectice Mira; but after three years of immersion in the dark side, he had sharpened his anger. Tholme's five-month run of sabotage in the Saleucami facility made Bulq furious, and caused him to regard Tholme as a thorn in his side. Bulq, in fact, found it necessary to draw out the duel by toying with Tholme, as he did not feel that a short duel and quick death for Tholme would bring him sufficient satisfaction—Bulq apparently felt that he was far enough above Tholme in skill to be in no danger from this approach. As Bulq had saved him before on Bakura, he regarded Tholme as literally owing Bulq his life; he repeatedly claimed it as his by right to take in his battles with Tholme. Despite that, he was loyal and levelheaded enough to serve as one of Dooku's most trusted lieutenants, leading important projects with Dooku heavily delegating authority to Bulq. Powers and abilities Appearances *''Star Wars: Attack of the Creepy Ex'' *''Jedi: Mace Windu'' *''Jedi: Count Dooku'' *''Star Wars: No Prisoners'' *''Star Wars: Striking from the Shadows'' *''Star Wars: Dreadnaughts of Rendili, Part 3'' *''Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil'' *''Star Wars: Siege of Saleucami'' Notes and references Category:Dark Acolytes Category:Fallen Jedi Category:Jedi Knights of the New Jedi Order Category:Jedi Weapon Masters Category:Lightsaber combat instructors Category:Males Category:Philosophers Category:Planetary leaders Category:Weequays